


i just wanna tell you

by noorva



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Will add more tags as I go!, as in so gay that the working title of the google doc is "u kno what it is!!!!! (gay)", fake dating au aka the s2 we deserved!!!!!, gonna be gay!!! rlly gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-11-09 13:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11105073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noorva/pseuds/noorva
Summary: "so if you really want to get rid of me, just go on a date with me. stop playing hard to get."noora raised an eyebrow. "it's not playing hard to get if i'm already taken, william."[s2 au: the fake dating noora x eva that we all deserved]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways let's all admit that we were scammed by one ms. julie andem who could've made it gay. she could've made it gay, ppl. guess she just seemed to miss the fact that noora's lesbian and in love with eva!!!

“Are you going to the Christmas tree lighting tomorrow?” Eva asked as she and Noora made their way down the stairs.

Noora looked up from her phone, where an unread message from William greeted her. Noora’s finger hovered over it before she realized Eva had asked her a question. “Huh? I don’t know. Maybe. Are you?”

Eva fidgeted with her backpack straps, hiking up the weight on her back, before responding, “Yeah, if you wanna go I was thinking--” 

Before Eva could finish, Noora froze at the sudden feel of a body pressed up against her back. “Hi beautiful,” William breathed into her ear. 

“Wilhelm!” Noora exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she turned to face him. “Wow!” 

“Why haven’t you responded to my messages?” he asked. 

“Wilhelm,” Noora said, feeling as flash of satisfaction flare after seeing him deflate at her dismissal. “It’s been two weeks, and I have yet to respond. You have no power. You have to give up now,” she finished with a shrug. 

“Give up?” William said, eyebrows raised. “I won’t give up.”

“You’re wasting your time.”

“Listen, Noora Amalie Saetre. You’re a smart girl. You have to understand that every time you reject me, I only want you more and more.” 

Beside her, Eva snorted and William’s eyes narrowed briefly at her, before he turned his gaze back to Noora.

“So if you really want to get rid of me,” he continued, “just go on a date with me. Stop playing hard to get.” 

Noora raised an eyebrow. “It’s not playing hard to get if I’m already taken, William.” Before he could respond, Noora glanced over at a confused looking Eva, linking their elbows together before brushing past William. “Sorry, Wilhelm. Places to be.” 

***

As soon as they were out of earshot of William, Eva whipped around to face Noora, a disbelieving expression on her face. “Fuck, Noora, what were you thinking?”

Noora intended to respond in a collected manner, but her mind was going a million miles an hour and all she could let out was, “What do you mean ‘what was I thinking?’ I was thinking that I never wanted to hear William’s whiny little voice telling me I’m beautiful again! I was thinking that I never want to see another notification with his name pop up on my phone, never feel him breathing into my ear, never see him watching me out of the corner of his eye!”

Eva looked stunned for a minute before her expression softened. “Noora,” she reached a gloved hand out to still Noora, who was trembling slightly, then guided her over to the bench where Noora had once comforted her with tacky Justin Bieber music accompanied by dorky singing.

“Come on. What I meant was: what are you going to do? You’re not dating anyone. Unless you didn’t tell me, and then I’m gonna be mad,” Eva said smiling and nudging Noora slightly. When Noora only sighed, Eva continued, “And if you say you’re dating Justin Bieber, I’m gonna be even madder.” At that, Noora laughed a bit.

“No, Eva, I’m not dating Justin Bieber. Or anyone for that matter,” Noora admitted. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I can’t stand the thought of William continuing to pursue me and that just what came to me on the spot. I--I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she repeated.

“It’s okay, Noora, we’ll figure it out.”

“How, though? He is right-- I can’t just avoid him forever. And I’m not taken.”

“I don’t know,” Eva sighed. “But we’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoping to update this fairly regularly! pls let me know what you think and come talk to me on tumblr @noorva !


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> noora's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a brief moment before she took the plunge and texted eva anyway. 
> 
> "eva, lunch today? that nice coffeeshop by your house maybe? we need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaah thank u all for the kudos/comments! i'm just doing my best to fix the mess that season 2 was and give us all the noora/eva relationship we deserve.

_Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz._ Rolling over with a groan, Noora blindly reached for her phone, fumbling for the silence button, but she stopped at the appearance of an unwelcome notification on her lockscreen.

_7 New Messages From William Magnusson_

Noora scrubbed a hand across her face and pushed herself up on her bed, despite the fact that 6:28 am on a Saturday was far too early for her to deal with William’s bullshit. With a sigh, Noora unlocked her phone, mentally preparing an explanation for him about why she had lied yesterday and said she was seeing someone-- he had to have known.

_noora_

_noora answer me_

_come on, you can’t just ignore my messages forever_

_noora i know you’re reading this_

_why didn’t you tell me you were dating eva????_

_noora, come on just respond_

_go on a date with me and i bet i could change your mind ;))))_

Noora let out a breath of air and tossed her phone across the bed. It was only William’s usual relentless hair-pulling and nagging; he didn’t seem to suspect that Noora had lied yesterday when she said-- _wait_. Noora’s heart stuttered in her chest. Lunging for her phone, Noora’s mind ran over William’s texts as she frantically opened her messages: _why didn’t you tell me you were dating Eva?_

And there it was, a green bubble of text glaring back at Noora with William’s accusation: dating Eva. Dating Eva? Though Noora’s heart beat a little faster at the thought, she couldn’t make sense of it. Why did William think she was dating Eva? Was it a typo? A joke? Either way-- Noora was panicking.

Noora checked the time again. 6:31. Eva wouldn’t be awake for at least a few more hours-- Noora knew from staying over at Eva’s that she liked to sleep in and couldn’t be wakened like Noora could by her phone's incessant buzzing.

Noora’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a brief moment before she took the plunge and texted her anyway.

_Eva, lunch today? That nice coffee shop by your house maybe? We need to talk._

* * *

Eva finally replied just before 11, as Noora was cleaning up her room.

_sorry noora i just woke up!!!!!!!_

_lunch sounds good_

_meet there at 12???_

_I have something i need to talk to you about too_

Noora smiled at her phone, endeared by Eva’s texting antics.

“What are you smiling at?” Eskild leaned against Noora’s doorway, a smirk on his face. “Or, should I ask: which poor boy’s heart did you step on today?”

“Eskild,” Noora scolded. “It’s just Eva.”

“You stepped on Eva’s heart?” 

Noora rolled her eyes. “No, kind of the opposite actually…”  

Eskild raised an eyebrow. “Okay...cryptic. Well, if you do have any broken hearted boys whose feelings you’ve stomped on, just send them my way, and I can help comfort them, if you know what I mean.” As he turned away, he added: “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Noora!”

Noora laughed at him as he left, then replied to Eva: _12 is fine. See you soon._

* * *

 A bell at the doorway tinkled, as Eva made her way into the shop, maneuvering past hungover students, busy professionals, and friends meeting up. Noora looked up from her tea and smiled at Eva, who looked particularly windswept: auburn hair blown all over the place beneath her beanie, white, fleecey jacket buttoned up at the wrong places. Noora loved it when Eva wore that jacket. She looked so huggable and pretty and with her tumbling across her coat, Noora just wanted to--

“Hi!” Eva took a seat across from Noora, pulling her beanie off her head and shrugging her way out of her coat.

“Hi,” Noora replied. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a rock,” Eva said with a laugh. “As usual. You?”

 Noora shrugged. “Not that well. William wouldn’t stop sending me messages, so…” she trailed off, not wanting to tell Eva about William's troubling messages.

“Oh,” Eva said. “Sorry about that.”

 Noora waved her hand like it wasn’t a big deal, but her heart was racing in her chest. What should she tell Eva? And how?

“About that…” Eva said abruptly, before Noora could broach the topic. “William, I mean. And you telling him you were taken.”

“Yes?”

Eva cleared her throat. “What I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve...thought of a solution, actually.”

Noora raised her eyebrows, but nodded at Eva to continue.

 “I was just thinking that-- and you don’t have to do this if you don't feel comfortable-- but I just thought maybe it would finally get William to stop pursuing you, and I know you want that, and _I_ also want that, because I can't stand seeing his horrid face, and hearing his horrid voice around you, and--and I wish he would just go away and stop bothering you, since  _clearly_ you’re not interested, so--”

“Eva. You’re rambling.” Really, Noora was endeared, but she also needed to tell Eva about William’s texts and needed Eva to get her point across.

“Right, sorry,” Eva said, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I was thinking that since you told him you were taken, you could always just...pretend to be.”

Noora considered for a moment. "Yeah, I hadn't thought about that, but I guess that could work. Except I don’t think William would believe me if I just invented someone who I suddenly started dating.”

"Oh, right," Eva said. "I agree--I don't think William would fall for that. But that wasn't what I was thinking."

Noora tilted her head. "What were you thinking, then?"

Eva looked embarrassed for a moment, but then forged on. “I was thinking--what I was trying to say was,” Eva let out a breath. “We could date.” 

When Noora didn’t respond, Eva continued, a little frantic, “Pretend date, that is. We wouldn’t actually have to date-- just hold hands in front of William and stuff like that to convince him that you really aren’t interested. And it would work because I’m bi, and I _really_ like you--” Eva’s eyes widened as she realized what she had said. “As a friend, obviously! I really like you as a friend, so it’s not like it’s a problem for us to date. Fake date. And I don’t know if that's okay with you, especially since I’m a girl and maybe you’re not into girls, which is totally okay, but--”

“I’m gay,” Noora said, finally managing to catch up to Eva’s words, though she mentally kicked herself for letting that be the first coherent thing she managed to say.

“Oh,” Eva said. Not meeting Noora’s eyes, Eva tapped her fingers on the side of her mug. "Gay, like...?" 

“I’m lesbian,” Noora finished. 

“Oh,” Eva repeated. “Cool-- I mean, ugh, I’m sorry. That was out of line for me to ask. And now I’m really sorry to think that William has been acting as if you’ve just playing hard to get all along.” 

“No, it’s fine,” Noora responded. Really, she’d been meaning to tell Eva about her sexuality for a while. She had known Eva was into girls too and had hoped they could bond over that, but with William managing to occupy her every waking moment, hovering around her constantly like an annoying fly, she just hadn’t had the time. 

“Okay, so…” Eva trailed off. “Do you want to think about it or? Should we just forget that this conversation happened entirely? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested it.” 

“Eva.” Noora reached out and covered Eva’s hands, where they were still tapping nervously on her mug. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Eva’s eyes widened. “Really?” A relieved smile spread across her face. She coughed and looked away quickly. “I mean, cool. Yeah. I hope it’ll finally get William to stop pestering you.” 

“Yeah,” Noora echoed, a smile spreading across her face as well. Her hands were still pressed against Eva’s, and the warmth from Eva’s hands and the mug of tea left a pleasant sensation against Noora's skin. "Me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *justin timberlake voice* it's gonna be gay!!!
> 
> anyways leave a kudos or comment and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eva looked back up at noora. "anything else?"
> 
> noora thought for a moment. "no falling in love?" she said, half-jokingly, but it fell flat.
> 
> eva cleared her throat. "uh, yeah, of course," she said, as she typed the final rule.
> 
> rule #6: no falling in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIHIHIHIHI i wasn't gonna edit this and post it until tomorrow but bc of tonight's clip, i went into an RAGE FUELED EDIT bc willh*lm appeared and i wanna die!!!!!!!! so, enjoy eva and noora being gay and just pretend that william doesn't exist!! also, wait for the next chapter for an excellent surprise where william finally meets his match!!!

Noora and Eva slowly made their way back from the coffee shop, laughing and talking about whatever crossed their mind, from Justin Bieber's new music video to Vilde's most recent text about who they could each hook up with at the upcoming Penetrator party. Even though Eva's house was the opposite direction from Noora's, Noora kept her company. When they reached Eva’s doorstep, Noora looked down, suddenly shy.

 

“So…” she said.

 

“Aren’t you going to give me a goodbye kiss?” Eva teased.

 

Noora swatted her arm. “Don’t tease, Eva. Besides, we haven’t even talked about our plan’s boundaries yet.”

 

“Boundaries?” 

 

Noora cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. Like are we going to just hold hands in front of William or kiss or what? And are we going to tell anyone it’s fake? What about Sana and Chris? It’s a lot to consider.”

 

“Yeah,” Eva looked down, then back up, meeting Noora’s eyes. “Do you wanna come in? We can figure this out inside.”

 

“Um, sure, yeah,” Noora replied. She didn’t know why she felt so awkward; she’d hung out at Eva’s house plenty before-- had even shared a bed with her. But this time it felt different as she stepped across the doorway and into the cozy atmosphere of Eva’s home.

 

She put her bag down by the door. “So…” Noora let out. The awkwardness was palpable, and Noora didn’t know what to do to combat it. What had changed? Maybe agreeing to Eva’s plan was a bad idea already.

 

“We can just go to my room and figure it out, okay?”

 

“Sure,” Noora said, following Eva into her room, where Eva threw herself onto the bed and Noora followed, laying on her stomach and kicking her feet up behind her. Noora relaxed a bit. This felt natural. 

 

“So. Dating.” Eva stated. 

 

“Yeah,” Noora replied. “Is anyone gonna believe us?”

 

“Not enough people pay attention to us to care. Loser bus, remember?”

 

Noora nodded. “Okay, so really the only people we’ll have to convince are William and-- should we tell the others?”

 

Eva considered for a moment. “It’s up to you, but I think that if we told them, that would just be more people who could ruin it and let William find out. And Vilde really cannot find out that William is desperately in love with you, or she's gonna freak.”

 

“I agree. So we won’t tell anyone.” Noora confirmed.

 

“Okay…” Eva paused. “So should we make some ground rules? We can write them down if you want.” 

 

“Okay,” Noora said. It couldn’t hurt to have it in writing-- they really needed to make sure that they wouldn't slip up and reveal the truth.

 

Eva pulled out her computer and opened up a blank document, her brow wrinkled and tongue sticking out slightly as she typed  _ Noora and Eva’s Scheme to Crush Wilhelm and His Overinflated Ego Once and For All _ , before she proudly showed Noora her work.

 

Noora raised an eyebrow at her, unimpressed.

 

Eva wiggled her eyebrows at Noora. “Come on, that’s the point of this all, isn’t it? Can’t you just see his pathetic expression when he sees us going at it in the courtyard?”

 

Noora let out a surprised laugh. “Okay, so there’s rule number one: we won’t be going at it in the courtyard.”

 

“Fine,” Eva said with a smirk. “Just the cafeteria then.”

 

Noora rolled her eyes, but Eva typed out  _ Rule #1: No “going at it.”  _

 

“Okay,” Eva said. “What else?”

 

“Holding hands is definitely good,” Noora said. "Definitely doable, and it will make us seem like a couple."

 

_ Rule #2: Holding hands is fair game _ . Eva looked back up at Noora. “What else?”

 

“I don’t know what you think, but kissing is fine by me,” Noora said, butterflies erupting in her stomach as she spoke, though she managed to keep her voice steady.

 

“Okay, cool,” Eva said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ears and--Noora looked closely-- was Eva blushing a bit? Before she could figure it out, Eva continued, “What are we talking here? Cheek kisses? Quick pecks? Full on making out?”

 

“I think we can just stick to quick kisses for now, right? Like when we greet each other? If that’s okay by you?” Noora cursed herself internally. Why was she being so tentative? Usually she oozed confidence and forthrightness, but somehow, the thought of kissing Eva made nervousness erupt through her body.

 

_ A good kind of nervousness though _ , she thought as her eyes drifted briefly to Eva’s lips, before darting away as Eva answered, “Yeah, that’s fine.” 

 

Noora watched as Eva typed  _ Rule #3: No making out, but quick kisses are okay. _

 

The butterflies in Noora's stomach had calmed down enough for Noora to bump Eva’s shoulder with her own as she said, “You better be careful with that one at parties, Miss ‘ _ will you make out with me’ _ ?” Noora put on her best Eva accent, playing up the puppy dog eyes and drunken slur. 

 

“Hey!” Eva said incredulously, shoving Noora with a laugh. “That was only once! And besides, it won’t be a problem. I’ve cut back on drinking, because you and Sana don't drink and still seem to have fun at parties _and_ you don’t wake up feeling like death the next day.”

 

“Oh,” Noora said, a little surprised. “That’s good, Eva.”

 

Eva smiled, looking proud of herself. “Thanks. Also… Jonas bet me that I wouldn’t be able to do it, and I couldn’t back down,” she admitted.

 

Noora smiled. “That's more like it. Still, it was a hard decision and I’m proud of you.” 

 

Eva looked down. “Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Noora replied. “Oh, and speaking of Jonas: that reminds me. Rule #4 should be about not telling anyone.”

 

“Right,” Eva said as she typed  _ Rule #4: No one can know!!!!! _

 

“Oh, and while we're at it, definitely no pet names,” Noora requested.

 

“What, William whispering ‘hey beautiful’ in your ear doesn’t do it for you?” Eva teased, but she typed  _ Rule #5: No pet names _ anyway. 

 

Eva looked back at up Noora. “Anything else?”

 

Noora thought for a moment. “No falling in love?” she said, half joking, but she couldn’t meet Eva’s eyes. 

 

Eva cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah, of course,” she said as she typed up the final rule.

 

_ Rule #6: No falling in love. _

 

Okay, Noora thought. She could do this. They could get away with ridding her of William and manage it without falling in love? Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW this was really self-indulgent but, hey. julie andem makes literally every scene with noora and eva this blatantly romantic, so im really just sticking to what we've got, here. also, side note: ummm idgaf about timing because i can't be bothered to suffer through the season of noorhelm again. so i'll be taking snippets and scenes, but they may not always be in order! thank you for your patience and kind comments and kudos <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for the comments last chapter! i really appreciate it! without further ado, pls enjoy william getting slam dunked.

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

 

Eva’s arm shot out from under the covers towards her alarm, scrambling for the snooze button. Her clock clattered to the floor and Eva groaned out a soft  _ fuck. _

 

Eva slowly forced herself out of bed, and sat with her feet planted on the floor, head resting in her hands for a few moments before picking up her fallen alarm clock. 

 

“Fuck!” she exclaimed, seeing the time on the clock-- 8:15. She would definitely be late to school, and she really couldn’t afford any more tardies.  _ Fuck _ . 

 

Eva scrambled out of her pajamas and into whatever clothes she could find laying around on the floor. She slid on her socks into her bathroom, almost losing her balance, but managed to make it to the sink, brush her teeth quickly, and figure that her hair could be dealt with later, before barreling down the stairs, swiping her backpack from a hook by the door, yelling out a “Bye, Mamma!” as she threw the door open wide and jogged down the street, desperately hoping the bus would be early today. 

 

“Fuck,” she exclaimed, as she reached the bus stop, one last time for emphasis. 

 

The bus wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and her first class started in fifteen minutes. As Eva was deciding between waiting for the bus or just running the whole way to school, a black car pulled up. The window rolled down, revealing William with a pleased smirk on his face. 

 

“Need a ride?” He asked, giving Eva a once over, a distasteful look on his face as he took in her uncombed hair and mismatched shoes. 

 

Eva tapped her foot impatiently, weighing the options. She really couldn’t afford to be late again. 

 

“Fine,” she agreed, opening up the passenger door and swinging herself into the front seat.

 

“Great,” William said with a smile. 

* * *

They sat in silence for the first two minutes of the ride, Eva staring out the window, watching the houses pass by, as William tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, humming along to the song playing on the radio. 

 

Eva was just about to put her earbuds in when William broke the silence.

 

“How long have you been dating Noora?”

 

Eva froze. She and Noora hadn’t talked about that yet. She’d just have to hope that William hadn’t asked Noora the same question, and she'd just have to catch Noora up later. “We just got together a few weeks ago, actually,” Eva replied casually.

 

William nodded. “How?”

 

_ Today is just a “fuck,” kind of day, isn’t it? _ Eva thought as she cursed internally. “We were...at a party,” Eva improvised.

 

“The one a few weeks back at Matthias’ house? I heard you made out with Penetrator Chris,” William said, an accusatory note in his voice.

 

_ Fuck, _ Eva thought again. “Yeah, that’s true,” Eva said. “But I was really drunk, and Noora helped me back to her place and made sure I got water and sleep, and when I woke up in the morning, Noora had made me breakfast in bed and...I kissed her,” she finished.

 

Most of that was true: Noora had taken care of Eva while she was drunk, and then hungover, but Eva hadn’t kissed her, though she’d wanted to-- badly. 

 

“Romantic,” William said. “Alcohol breath and all. Really sexy.” 

 

Eva wasn’t sure if William was trying to make a joke, but his response left her feeling uncomfortable, so she just settled on not replying. He didn’t say anything for a while.

 

“I didn’t know you were into girls,” William said, though it sounded like an accusation.

 

Eva scoffed. “Are you kidding? The second I saw Noora in Spanish class, I was at least a little bit in love with her. It was pathetic. I was just dating Jonas at the time, so I didn’t do anything about it.” 

 

That much was also true. Eva was a little embarrassed, but she figured that the more truth she wove into it, the more William would believe their lie. 

 

William nodded in understanding, then turned to Eva as he slowed to a stop in front of the school. “Well, I’m a bit in love with her too, and, she's hiding it, but I know that she really wants me, so don’t expect too many more romantic mornings of breakfast in bed with Noora.” A sick grin spread across his face. “She’ll be in _my_ bed soon enough.”

 

Eva froze for a moment before acting: she didn’t have direct access to his groin, but she figured slamming his face onto the steering wheel was good enough. A loud honk startled the students milling about the courtyard, who turned to look on as Eva calmly exited William’s car, leaving a stunned William in the drivers' seat grasping his bleeding nose. 

 

Eva turned around to lean her arms against the top of his car, head ducked down to the window. 

 

“Don’t ever talk about Noora like that again,” Eva said with a smile. She kicked his car for emphasis before turning around and heading to class. 

* * *

Eva made it to class on time, but it didn’t matter, because everything the teacher said flew right over her head. Anger swirled in her as she thought of William and how he talked about Noora. Eva didn’t care what it would take-- she would take Noora to the city hall right now and marry her on the spot if it meant that William would stop harassing her. 

 

Not that it would ever come to that. 

 

Eva walked out of class, having learned nothing. She might has well have just taken the tardy and avoided the terrible ride to school with William.

 

Eva made her way to cafeteria for a free period she shared with Noora--hopefully she could catch her up on what had happened with William.

 

As Eva reached the cafeteria, she scanned the room for Noora and found her walking towards a table, looking down at her phone. And right behind her was William.

 

Eva couldn't see his face, but she could tell it was him, about to tap Noora on her shoulder. She had to act fast--Noora didn’t know about what she told William in the car and they needed to keep their story consistent. “Noora!” she called out, waving her arm as Noora turned around, smiling as she saw Eva. Eva smiled back, but nodded her head towards William to alert Noora, watching as the smile slid from Noora’s face.

 

Noora quickly forced her way past William, who turned around to grab her arm--Eva felt a flash of satisfaction at his swollen noise and the bruise spreading across  eye-- but Noora yanked her arm away, striding towards Eva. 

 

“Hi!” Noora said as she reached Eva, and before Eva could even react, Noora grabbed her face, quickly pressing her lips to the side of Eva’s mouth.

 

“Uh, hi,” Eva managed, which was pretty eloquent considering how her brain had fizzled out the second Noora's lips had touched hers. 

 

Eager to not miss out on the meltdown her brain was having, Eva's heart caught up and stuttered painfully in her chest as Noora reached down and laced Eva’s fingers through her own.  Eva shook her head to clear her mind. What was wrong with her?

 

William approached them. “Noora,” he greeted. “Nice shirt,” he commented, eyes lingering on Noora’s chest. 

 

Noora used the hand not laced through Eva’s to shrug her coat back on, but she replied easily, “Nice black eye. Where’d you get it? Did you pick a fight with a 13 year old? Or was it another drunken brawl with beer bottles?”

 

William smirked. “Ask your friend,” he said, nodding to Eva.

 

“Eva?” Noora asked, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. 

 

Eva shrugged. “He was being a dick,” she explained.

 

Noora squeezed Eva’s hand, smiling. “Understandable,” she said, turning to William. “And she's my _girlfriend_ , actually. Now, why don’t you run along and find someone else to bother before you decide to be a dick again and get a matching bruise for your other eye?”   
  


William raised his eyebrows and put up his hands in a placating gesture, before turning around and leaving Noora and Eva alone. 

 

Eva turned to Noora and let out a laugh. “Holy fuck, Noora! I thought we were dead!”

 

“Us, dead? Why? Did you see the bruise on  _ his  _ face? If anyone’s dead, it’s him. I don’t think he’ll be messing with us for a while, Eva,” Noora replied. “What did you  _ do _ to him?”

 

Eva told Noora about her ride to school with William, though she left out the parts about her having a crush on Noora in Spanish class, and she described William's lewd comments about Noora in vague terms.

 

When Eva finished, Noora looked impressed. “Wow, you managed to come up with all of that on the spot  _ and  _ slam William’s face into his steering wheel? Eva, maybe we have to retract the rule about me falling in love with you,” Noora joked, but she cleared her throat quickly and looked away. 

 

“Uh, yeah,” Eva said. “So, next time he approaches you, if he tries to ask you about us, at least now we have the same story.”

 

Noora nodded. 

 

“Who has the same story?” A voice behind them asked. 

 

Eva spun around. “Vilde, hi!” Sana and Chris stood behind her, and Eva waved at them both. “Uh, Noora and I were just talking about…” she turned to Noora, scrambling for an excuse-- their friends couldn't find out that their relationship was fake before they had even managed to tell them they were dating in the first place. 

 

Noora looked just as panicked. “Eva and I, we just have the same story about, um--”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” Sana cut in. She spun a seat around and sat down, resting her arms on the back of the chair. “We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! as always, comments and kudos are welcome. pls feel free to come shout at me about wilhell on tumblr (user @noorva), especially about how like. im literally taking most of his lines from the canon here???? why does no one see that he's a mega creep?!??????? im upset, so COME RANT TO ME (
> 
> anyways, thanks again for all the support!!!
> 
> ps: don't mistake my hatred of william for not caring about penetrator chris, bc frankly he can also die and im upset about the fact that he's gonna end up with eva probably. we truly could've had it all, and look at what we've ended up with


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eva reached for noora’s hand squeezing it between her own, silent affirmation that noora could do this. she could tell them.
> 
>  
> 
> “we’re dating,” noora said, attempting to be casual. “eva and i.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO my lovelies!!! thank u as always for your kind words and support! pls enjoy the upcoming chapter and also excuse any errors, bc im currently jetlagged af and some things probably slipped by me.

_previously: "Doesn’t matter,” Sana cut in. She spun a seat around and sat down, resting her arms on the back of the chair. “We need to talk.”_

 

Noora and Eva glanced nervously at each other. “About what?” Noora asked.

 

“About the bus, and how we’re going to make a name for ourselves,” Sana stated, as if it was obvious.

 

“Oh, right, of course,” Noora replied, letting out a breath of air. “What about the bus? I thought Vilde got Brun og Blid to sponsor us.”

 

Sana waved her hand. “I rejected that offer last week. You didn’t want them sponsoring us, so we’ll just come up with something else.”

 

Noora’s heart warmed. “So that’s why we need to talk,” Sana continued. “We need to find some way to gain a reputation, maybe find someone to go in on the bus with us.”

 

“Maybe we could team up with Ingrid and Sara and those girls?” Vilde chimed in.

 

“No, Vilde,” Sana said. “We’re not dealing with those bitches. We need the third year boys.”

 

“As if they aren’t any worse?” Noora asked incredulously.

 

Sana shrugged. “I’ve heard William is supposedly interested in a first year girl. We need to make sure it’s one of us.”

 

Eva squeezed Noora’s leg beneath the table. “Um...Chris, weren’t you just saying it had been a while since you got laid? Maybe you should take this one,” Eva said.

 

“Hell no,” Chris replied, words garbled by the spoon hanging in her mouth. “I’ve got my eye on a guy from Elvebakken. He plays guitar and I’ve heard he gives great head.”

 

“Eva, can’t you just hook up with William at the party at Chris' on Friday?” Sana asked. “Or--even better: haven’t you been talking with Penetrator Chris recently? That ups our reputation, and then if Noora or Vilde hooks up with William on Friday, our bus will really gain some popularity.”  


“Uh, no,” Eva, Noora, and Vilde all answered at once.

 

Sana glanced between the three of them. “Okay...why?”

 

Noora looked quickly to Vilde. “Um, you first.”

 

“Oh,” Vilde said. “Well, I was just thinking that it went so badly last time I thought William was coming on to me, and I don’t really care to hook up with someone who thinks I’m not good enough.”

 

Sana looked impressed. “Wow, Vilde. Congratulations on growing a spine,” she said. Vilde looked embarrassed.

 

“But what’s your problem, Noora? And you, Eva?” Sana asked, turning on them.

 

Eva reached for Noora’s hand squeezing it between her own, silent affirmation that Noora could do this. She could tell them.

 

“We’re dating,” Noora said, attempting to be casual. “Eva and I.”

 

There was a moment of silence, where Chris’s jaw dropped so much that her spoon clattered to the floor and Sana’s brow wrinkled in confusion. It was only broken by Vilde’s delighted squeal. “I knew it! I knew you were hiding a girlfriend from us, Noora! I just didn’t know it was Eva!”

 

Vilde got up and made her way around the table, squeezing Noora and Eva against her in a hug.

 

“Wow, when did that happen?” Chris asked, kneeling down to pick up her spoon.

 

“A few weeks ago, at a Penetrator party,” Eva answered easily.

 

“Congratulations, you two,” Sana added. “We’ll come up with something else, then, for the bus.”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that, Sana,” Noora said.

 

Sana waved her hand again. “It’s not a problem. We’ll figure something out. You two just better not break up and ruin our bus,” she said, an accusing finger pointing between them.

 

Eva laughed nervously, but Noora replied  “I don’t see that happening any time soon.”

 

“And be at the party on Friday,” Sana added.

 

“We’ll be there,” Eva said.

 

“Good,” Sana said. “Then it’s not a problem.”

 

“No,” Noora replied. “It won’t be a problem."

* * *

 

Noora looked in the mirror as she looped an earring through her earlobe. Taking one last look at her reflection, she smoothed over her dress and stepped into a pair of heels. Grabbing her phone and lipstick, Noora made her way out of the house, remembering to yell out, “Eskild, I’m leaving for a party! Don’t wait up for me!” as she slammed the door behind her.

 

Eskild yelled something after her, but all she could make out through the closed door was something about not making too much noise and Eva and his beauty sleep.

 

Noora was about to pull out her phone to text Eva that she was outside--they were walking together to the party-- but she looked up to see a stunned looking Eva a few feet from the base of the stairs.

 

“Noora,” Eva breathed out. “You look...amazing.”

 

Noora self-consciously pulled on the tight hem of her dress, which barely skimmed the top of her thighs. “Really? You think so?”

 

Eva laughed disbelievingly, before replying, “Yeah, you look so fucking hot.”

 

Noora rolled her eyes, but replied. “Thanks. You too.” It felt like such a meager way to describe how incredible Eva looked: tight fitting dress hugging her in all the right places, long legs exposed beneath the hem of her coat, and her hair in its full mermaid glory.

 

Eva smiled, holding out her elbow for Noora. “Should we go?”

 

“Yeah,” Noora replied, linking her arm through Eva’s, as they made their way towards Chris’ house.

 

They walked in companionable silence, their elbows eventually unlinking, only for their hands and shoulders to brush as they bumped together, each time sending a bolt of electricity through Noora’s arm.

 

When they reached Chris’ door, Eva intertwined their fingers and took a breath, turning to look at Noora. “Ready to flaunt our relationship to the world?”

 

“Ready,” Noora confirmed.

 

Eva pushed open the door, revealing a party already in full swing: Vilde was dancing on a table top, alcohol flowed freely, Sana was laughing in a corner with Isak, pointing at a drunk Chris who appeared to be serenading her uncomfortable looking male counterpart, Chris Schistad.

 

Noora let out a sigh of relief. No sign of William yet. She felt a light tug on her hand as Eva pulled her towards the dance floor. “Let’s dance!” she yelled, over the sound of pounding music.

 

Noora followed as Eva wove through throngs of people until they reached the center of the crowd, where Eva let go of Noora’s hand and threw her hands up in the air, yelling out the lyrics to the song playing.

 

Noora laughed, but joined Eva, jumping up and down beside her to the beat of the music, hair loose around her shoulders and head thrown back.

 

Eva looked up and motioned to Sana and Isak and grabbed Vilde’s attention as well, beckoning them all over. The five of them danced together in the mosh pit, bodies pressed against each other, arms flailing, singing loudly, jumping up and down together.

 

“Eva, how drunk are you?” Isak called out over the loud thrum of the music.

 

“Not even a little bit!” Eva yelled back, as she threw her arms around Noora’s shoulders, swaying to the beat of the new song. Noora smiled at Eva, wrapping her arms around Eva’s waist, about to pull her even closer when someone tugged on her shoulder and turned her around, out of Eva’s arms.

 

William.

 

A thick strand of hair covered his eye--still bruised, Noora noted with satisfaction-- and he was dressed in all black, hoodie popped over his head. _Was that supposed to be attractive?_   Noora wondered.

 

“Noora,” William stated. “Can I speak to you?”

 

Eva pulled Noora against her side. William seemed to just register Eva’s presence, and looked around to notice a confused looking Sana and Vilde flanking Noora as well.

 

“In private?” he added.

 

Noora looked to Eva, silently conferring to see what she should do. Eva nodded. “Okay,” Noora agreed, before leaning in to kiss Eva’s cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

 

With that, she followed William upstairs.

 

* * *

 

William led her into an empty bedroom, sitting down on the bed. When Noora followed him in, he asked “Can you close the door?”

 

“I’d prefer not to,” Noora replied.

 

William rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

 

“What did you want to talk to me about? And can you make it quick? Unlike you, I have a girlfriend waiting for me downstairs.” Noora said with a smile.

 

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” William said.

 

“Okay…” Noora replied. "You not having a girlfriend or--"

 

“When are you going to give it up, Noora? Just go on one date with me, come on.”

 

Noora scoffed. “No, William, when are _you_ going to give it up? I’ve clearly shown you that I’m not interested, and that I’m taken. What more do you want?”

 

“I want you, Noora Saetre.”

 

“Wow, romantic. Did that work on every other girl you’ve harassed into dating you?”

 

William smirked, and Noora wanted so desperately to wipe that dumb smirk off his face.

 

“Seriously, William. What’s it going to take for you to lay off of me?”

 

“I’ve told you. One date.”

 

“That’s not an option, William. I’m dating Eva.”

 

“See, that’s the thing, Noora. I don’t believe you,” William said.

 

Noora’s heart plummeted, but she managed to pull off a scoff. “Well, unfortunately you’re just gonna have to believe me when I say that Eva and I are dating. There’s no way for me to prove it to you.”

 

William raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t there?”

 

Noora raised her eyebrows back at him. “Um….no? You’ve already seen us together.”

 

“I’m open to threesomes, Noora,” William said with a smirk.

 

Noora’s stomach turned over inside her. She couldn’t even think, couldn’t even dredge up the words to respond to William. All she could manage was a look of disgust, before she turned around and walked out the door, making her way to the stairs, feet pounding down each one before she reached the main throng of the party.

 

“Eva? Eva!” Noora called out, searching for Eva’s coppery hair in the sea of people. “Eva!”

 

“Hi!” Eva’s armed wrapped around her waist from behind her, and her head came to rest on Noora’s shoulder. “What’s up?”

 

“We need to get out of here,” Noora said, turning around in Eva’s arms.

 

Eva’s brow wrinkled. “Why? Are you okay?”

 

Noora glanced up to find William standing in the doorway, smirk still stretching across her face as he observed Noora encased in Eva’s arms.

 

Eva looked at Noora, worried. “What’s wrong?”

 

Noora shook her head. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here.”

 

Eva agreed, leading Noora out of the house. As they reached the sidewalk, Eva turned to Noora. “Should I call a cab? Are you okay? What happened? Did William hurt you?”

 

Noora shook her head, and they silently agreed to walk back towards Eva’s house.. “I’m fine. He just….He knows exactly what to say to make me feel like nothing and creep me out. I don’t want him talking to me or even thinking about me.”

 

Eva looked disgusted. “Noora, you should report him or something.”

 

“There’s nothing they can do about it, though,” Noora said, defeated.

 

“Still,” Eva replied. They once again walked in silence, but it never felt uncomfortable or awkward, just natural: the both of them walking side by side, occasionally glancing up to look at the moon peeking out from behind some clouds.

 

When they reached Eva’s doorstep, it wasn’t a question that Noora would come in. Noora followed Eva to her kitchen, slipping off her heels while Eva pulled out some mugs and a kettle. “Tea?” she asked Noora.

 

“Sure,” Noora replied.

 

As the kettle warmed on the stove, Eva asked, “Do you wanna talk about what happened with William?”

 

Noora sighed. “Nothing really happened. Just his usual gross staring and stalker-ish comments. I probably overreacted-- but he...” she trailed off.

 

Eva reached out and placed a hand on her arm. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.”

 

“No, it’s fine. I just-- he suggested a threesome. You, me, and him. And that crossed a line.”

 

Eva looked down. “Noora, I’m really sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

 

“I know it’s not fine, but I just need to forget about it and move on,” Noora said.

 

Eva nodded. “If that’s what will make you feel better, then I have the perfect idea.”

 

Once their tea was ready, Noora and Eva took their mugs with them back into Eva’s bedroom, and climbed under the covers while Eva opened up her laptop.

 

“What are we feeling tonight?” Eva asked. “Gossip Girl?”

 

“You choose,” Noora replied.

 

“Okay, Gossip Girl it is,” Eva said, opening up Netflix. Eva leaned back and placed her head on the pillow, motioning for Noora to do the same, but Noora settled for even better, laying her head on Eva’s chest.

 

Eva was surprised for a moment, but easily settled in, arm coming around Noora’s shoulders. They lay like that for a few moments, and with the sound from the computer playing gently, and Eva’s fingers softly running through her hair, Noora closed her eyes and drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! as always, feel free to lmk what you think and hmu on tumblr @noorva :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "noora!" eva cried. "are you cheating on me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in anticipation of a william clip coming at us sometime soon, pls enjoy the truth: noora and eva being gay and in love

Eva woke up the next morning to light filtering through the curtains. As she reached up to rub her eyes, Eva froze: her arm was resting on something that definitely wasn’t her bed-- some _one_ who wasn’t her bed.

 

Eva relaxed when she remembered last night: Noora falling asleep on her shoulder as they watched Netflix, her brow wrinkled adorably and soft snores punctuating the rise and fall of her chest.

 

But Eva definitely didn’t remember falling asleep with Noora’s back pressed against her front, Eva’s arm wrapped loosely around Noora’s waist, one of Noora’s legs linked between Eva’s own, and Noora’s hair tickling Eva’s face.

 

Noora was still against her, so Eva figured she must still be asleep, but when Eva removed her hand from Noora’s waist to run her hand through her hair, Noora turned around and faced Eva.

 

“Oh my god,” Noora said. “That is _so_ not fair.”

 

Eva''s hand paused halfway to her forehead, as she wrinkled her brow in confusion before replying “What’s not fair?”

 

Eva cleared her throat; her voice was low and scratchy with sleep.

 

“You look so cute, and you just barely woke up,” Noora complained.

 

“Oh, come on, that’s not true. My voice sounds like death,” Eva replied.

 

“Okay, maybe,” Noora admitted. “But look,” she said, grabbing her phone from the bedside table. “You look ridiculously pretty with your hair all messy like that and your skin all glowy.”

 

Noora turned her phone on and Eva was pleasantly surprised to see that her lockscreen was a photo of them: Eva was looking at the camera, laughing at something the person behind the camera was saying-- it must have been Sana, when the three of them had a study session-- and Noora was turned sideways, holding Eva’s arm and smiling at her.

 

Before Eva could ask Noora about it-- did she just have that background because of their fake dating plan or had it been there all along? How’d she get it on her phone? She must have had to specifically ask Sana to send it to her-- Noora unlocked her phone and opened up Snapchat.

 

Eva threw up one arm to cover her face. “Noora, no!” she cried, shoving Noora with her other arm.

 

Noora laughed, pulling Eva’s hand away from her face. “Come on, Eva! You look cute.”

 

Eva stuck her tongue out at Noora, but scooted her head closer to Noora's for a selfie. Eva went for a smile, while Noora puckered her lips and crossed her eyes, managing to quickly get a picture before they both burst out laughing.

 

Noora sent it to a few of their friends before turning towards Eva-- but with their cheeks pressed close together for the photo, Noora’s face ended up only inches from Eva's.

 

“I told you you looked pretty,” Noora said softly.

 

“Thanks,” Eva breathed out, as Noora’s gaze slid to Eva’s lips. Eva’s heart clattered in her chest--was Noora leaning in? Eva found herself leaning forward too, when--

 

_Ring! Ring!_

 

Noora leaped back, scrambling for her phone, as Eva’s heart managed to slow so that it was no longer thundering in her chest, but only racing slightly. _Had Noora almost kissed her?_

 

“Hello? William, what do you want?”

 

Eva groaned and scrubbed a hand down her face, then reached out and put an arm on Noora’s shoulder, raising her eyebrows in a silent question: _Are you okay?_

 

Noora nodded, before motioning to her phone and putting it on speaker so that Eva could listen.

 

“Noora, where are you?” William's voice crackled through the phone.

 

“At my house,” Noora lied smoothly.

 

“No, you’re not,” William said. “I’m at your door with--” William’s voice drifted off, but they could still make out him asking, “Who are you again?”

 

“Tell her it’s the guru,” a voice replied. “She’ll know who it is.”

 

“Eskild!” Noora cried into her phone, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

 

“Yeah, I’m here at your house with Eskild, and you’re not here,” William said. “Tell me where you are, and try telling me the truth this time. I just want to talk about last night.”

 

Eva wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him, but she managed to stay silent.

 

“No, William, there’s nothing to talk about,” Noora said.

 

“Even if I wanted to apologize?” William asked.

 

“You can apologize all you want--and you should-- but that’s not going to change my feelings towards you,” Noora said. Eva squeezed her arm, proud of her for taking a stand.

 

William growled in frustration before replying, “God, Noora, I’m trying to do a good thing for you, and you just continue to shoot me down. Can’t you ever think of anyone but yourself?”

 

Noora paused for a moment, and looking at her, Eva could tell that she was hurt.

 

When Noora didn’t respond, William said “Meet me at Frogner at 16. You’d better be there.”

 

* * *

 

Eva huddled behind a bush, Sana and Isak beside her, peeking through the shrubbery to get a glimpse of Noora and William. Eva knew William couldn’t be trusted, and she’d decided to bring back-up in case things went south. Eva hadn’t told either of them about their fake dating scenario, but when she’d told Sana about William’s treatment of Noora, Sana claimed that she could terrify William into submission, and Isak was just along for the ride, Eva supposed.

 

Eva glanced around the bush again. “Can you see anything?” Sana whispered next to her.

 

Eva shook her head. “Not really. Just William towering over her again. She looks scared.”

 

“Should we do something?” Isak asked.

 

“Like what?” Sana replied. “He hasn’t done anything yet that we can really put a stop to.”

 

Eva gnawed on her lip. Noora wouldn’t meet William’s eyes as she spoke, and when he tried to put a hand on her shoulder, she flinched backwards.

 

“I don’t know how much more of this I can stand,” Eva confessed.

 

Sana gave her a sympathetic look. “I'm sorry. What do you suggest we do?”

 

Eva’s heart swelled with gratitude for Sana; she hadn’t seemed surprised when Eva had told her that Noora was the one William had his sights on, and she hadn’t even questioned anything when Eva had asked for her help.

 

“You’re gonna have to go big,” Sana continued. “He doesn’t seem turned away by the fact that you’ve held hands with Noora in front of him or kissed her cheek.”

 

Eva didn’t know what to do. Sana was right--their public displays of affection didn’t seem to have any effect on William’s predatory behaviour. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Noora looked more and more fearful by the minute.

 

“I’ve got an idea,” Isak said.

 

* * *

 

“Remember, go big or go home,” Sana whispered, before stomping on Eva’s foot.

 

“Ow!” Eva exclaimed. “What was that for?”

 

“To bring on the tears,” Sana explained, as if it was obvious.

 

Eva reached down to rub her foot. “All that did was make me mad!”

 

Sana shrugged. “Good enough,” she said, before yanking Eva out from behind the bush with her.

 

Noora hadn’t seen them yet-- and neither had William-- but both of their heads shot up when Eva’s anguished voice yelled out, “Noora! Are you _cheating_ on me?”

 

She watched as Isak, who snuck the other way behind the bushes emerged at Noora's back, before grabbing a confused looking Noora’s arm, and whispering "Roll with it!" before disappearing dramatically into the trees behind them. 

 

Eva almost lost her cool and laughed at that, but she managed to well up some tears in her eyes. “Noora? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

 

“I-I--” Noora stuttered.

 

“And _you_!” Eva shrieked, stomping towards William, accusing finger reached out to poke him in the chest, which she did with enthusiasm--perhaps a bit too much.

 

William’s eyes widened and he backed away, arms thrown up placatingly.

 

Eva turned around with a huff, throwing herself onto Sana’s shoulder, forcing a few heaving sobs out of her body. She looked up quickly and saw Sana restraining a smile and pinched her side.

 

“Eva, it’s--um-- it’s not what it looks like?” Noora said, sounding uncertain.

 

Eva looked up from Sana’s shoulders, tears streaking her face. “It’s not what it looks like? Oh, so you were just standing that close to William because what? You couldn’t hear him well? Your ears seemed to be working fine last night when you serenaded me in the moonlight with your guitar!” Eva let out a sob.

 

“Tone it down, you idiot,” Sana muttered in her ear.

 

Eva stuffed a fist in her mouth, which fortunately made it look like she was stifling another sob and not a laugh.

 

William looked revolted.

 

“Come on, Sana, Isak, we’re leaving,” Eva said, nose thrown into the air. “Since Noora apparently doesn’t have anything to say for herself.”

 

Noora turned back to look at Isak, a wild expression on her face. He motioned with his hands at her, mouthing “Improvise!” before darting forwards to join Eva and Sana.

 

“Eva, wait!” Noora cried. “Eva, we weren’t doing anything! I was just turning William down on a date.”

 

Eva paused her steps, but didn't turn around.

 

“Eva, I still love you!” For anyone else, it probably sounded convincing, but Eva knew Noora well enough to know that she was holding back a laugh.

 

Eva turned around, and slowly made her way back to Noora. “Really?”

 

She was standing in front of Noora now, and Noora reached out and wiped a tear from Eva’s face. “Yes, Eva, I’ve always loved you, and I would never cheat on you.”

 

Eva couldn’t see her, but she knew Sana was rolling her eyes behind her, as William looked on in horror.

 

Eva pulled Noora’s face towards her own and they crashed together in a kiss, Eva grasping Noora’s face between her hands and Noora’s hands clutched in Eva’s shirt. Eva could feel Noora’s smile against her lips and forced herself not to join in laughing.

 

They broke apart and Eva made a show of breathing heavily, her chest rising up and down, before turning towards William and thrusting herself at him. She wasn’t actually going to hit him-- but he didn’t know that. He lurched backwards and fell onto his ass.

 

Eva reached back and grabbed Noora’s hand. “Come on, Noora, let’s go.”

 

Eva and Noora walked away from William and joined Sana and Isak, leaving William sitting in the dirt muttering “Fucking crazy,” under his breath.

 

Eva couldn’t help it. She threw her head back and laughed. Noora, Sana, and Isak joined in too, as they left the park, arms linked together leaving behind a stunned William in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as per usual, let me know what you think! come at me with the william hate! join me with the nooreva love! make fun of the ridiculousness of this chapter! bemoan the ending of skam! im here for all of it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maybe it was better that noora was distancing herself from eva. it seemed like william might finally leave her alone, and they’d have to give up their facade eventually.
> 
> eva would just miss holding noora’s hand or having noora asleep on her shoulder or having noora’s smell linger on her clothes, is all. it wasn’t a big deal. really.
> 
>  
> 
> [cw for this chapter: alcohol and spiking drinks. i dont want to give too much away, but if you'd like to ask me about it in more detail, please feel free to do so]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO i am back!! skam is now officially over and noorh*lm is somehow officially canon and that just ain't right. might i suggest assuaging the pain with this chapter???

After a quick pit stop at McDonald’s with Isak and Sana, the four of them parted ways, leaving Noora and Eva to sit on a bench outside Noora’s house, sharing an ice cream.

 

“So, thanks for saving me out there,” Noora said.

 

Eva smiled. “Thanks for rolling with Isak’s crazy plan. I wasn’t sure if you’d catch on.”

 

Noora rolled her eyes. “I caught on eventually. Your acting is terrible. I’d be worried for what that means for us fake dating, but everyone seems to believe it.”

 

“Hey!” Eva said. “My acting was great! I was just really feeling the passion of the moment and getting into it, you know?” 

 

Noora fixed her with a disbelieving stare.

 

Eva laughed through a mouthful of ice cream. They sat for a moment, passing the spoon back and forth as they took turns taking bites of the melting ice cream.

 

“So, what did William have to say to you?” Eva asked. 

 

Noora’s shoulders sagged. “Not much, before you rescued me. Asking me why I wouldn’t just go on one date with him, guilting me into going on said date with him, telling me I’m responsible for all of his pain and sadness. The usual, really.” 

 

“He came to your house, called to find out where you where, and  forced you to meet up with him in a park for that?” 

 

“Well…” Noora trailed off. “He also said that he’s giving me one more chance.”

 

“ _ He’s _ giving  _ you _ one more chance?”

 

“As in...if I don’t reciprocate, he’s giving up. He’s leaving to London in the fall anyways, so he says he might as well leave now if I’m just going to continue leading him on.”

 

Eva scoffed. “You’re not leading him on. But that’s good,” she continued. “Isn’t it?”

 

Noora looked up from where she was picking at a fraying hole in her jeans. “Huh? Oh, yeah, definitely,” she said distractedly.

 

“It doesn’t sound like you think it’s good,” Eva stated. 

 

“Oh, no, I really do think it’s good that he’ll stop bothering me. I just-- I’m not sure if I believe him, and…” she trailed off. 

 

“And?” Eva continued.

 

“Uh, nothing,” Noora replied hastily. “I just can’t trust him, is all.” 

 

Eva definitely got the feeling that Noora was hiding something, but it wasn’t her place to pry. They finished their ice cream, and Eva walked Noora back to her house, giving her a hug goodbye that lingered maybe slightly longer than necessary, but neither of them protested. 

 

“See you in Spanish tomorrow?” 

 

“S í ,” Noora replied with a smile. 

 

“Hasta mañana,” Eva said back, walking backwards away from Noora’s house.

 

“See, you’re learning!” Noora called after her. 

 

“It’s only because you’re such a good tutor,” Eva shouted back. 

 

“And because you’re smart, Eva!” 

 

Eva smiled.  “See you later, Nooramor.”

 

* * *

Eva picked her head up from the desk as a bag was slammed down in the seat next to her. 

 

It was just Noora. “Well, look at that! I’m here before you for once!” Eva said triumphantly.

 

Noora stuck her tongue out at her. “Sue me, I slept in because I didn’t have William’s texts waking me up for once.”

 

“Hey, that’s great!” Eva said, reaching out to wrap her arms around Noora.

 

“I know,” Noora said. “I guess I just have to reject him one more time for him to go away? Or something like that.”

 

“Yeah, so are you just gonna walk up to him and verbally attack him or what? It  _ is _ a strong suit of yours.” 

 

“No, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Ignore him, probably, and hope he goes away of his own accord,” Noora said. “He’s still stuck on me leading him on, which I don’t understand, because I’ve been pretty clear about my disgust for him.”

 

“He’s got a thick head, Noora. It takes a lot to get through that massive ego of his,” Eva replied. 

 

“Yeah, maybe,” Noora said. “I just think that somehow I really need to convince to him that we’re a couple and that I’m not interested in him.”

 

“What, my scene yesterday wasn’t enough?” Eva said with a smirk. 

 

“I think that just convinced him that you’re insane,” Noora said. 

 

“Insane about you,” Eva added. 

 

“That too,” Noora acknowledged. “Maybe--” Noora started, but she was cut off by their teacher rapping the board for the class’ attention. 

Noora turned and reached to grab her textbook from her bag, not finishing her thought, and Eva made a mental note to ask her about what she had been about to say later. 

 

* * *

Eva and Noora parted ways after Spanish class, but Eva found her again after history, sitting with Sana on a picnic bench outside the school. 

 

Sana and Noora looked deep in a conversation, and as Eva reached them, their conversation came to an abrupt stop. 

 

“Hi,” Eva greeted. “What’s going on?” 

 

“Um, nothing,” Noora answered, glancing at Sana. 

 

“Okay…” Eva said. Clearly it wasn’t nothing-- that was the second time Noora had dodged Eva’s questions recently-- but Eva brushed it off. It was probably nothing. 

 

After all, maybe it was better that Noora was distancing herself from Eva. It seemed like William might finally leave her alone, and they’d have to give up their facade eventually. 

 

Eva would just miss holding Noora’s hand or having Noora asleep on her shoulder or having Noora’s smell linger on her clothes, is all. It wasn’t a big deal. Really.

 

“Are you going to Ingrid’s party on Friday?” Sana asked, interrupting Eva’s thoughts. 

 

“Ingrid?” Eva wrinkled her nose. “Do I have to?”

 

Sana fixed her with a stare. 

 

“Okay, fine, I’ll go. But only for the good of the bus, okay?”

 

“Obviously,” Sana replied. “Why else would we ever want to go to Ingrid’s party?” 

 

“Hey, come on, no need to be mean,” Noora chimed in. 

 

“Oh, you can’t talk, Noora. You’re the one who told me she’d get chlamydia for calling me a slut,” Eva pointed out. 

 

“Okay, okay, fine,” Noora replied. “But I think it will be fun for us to all go.”

 

“Ugh,” Eva groaned. “And I can’t even get drunk.”

 

“Then you can just hang with me and Noora,” Sana replied. 

 

“See?” Noora said. “It will be fun.”

 

* * *

Eva put the finishing touches on Vilde’s eyeliner, standing back to look at her work. “Okay, you’re done.” 

 

“Thanks, Eva!” Vilde replied turning to look at herself in the mirror. “My look has to send a  _ please-hook-up-with-me _ signal to the Penetrator boys.” Vilde pulled down the neckline of her blouse significantly.    
  


Eva turned to Noora, who was braiding Chris’ hair, and rolled her eyes. Noora just smiled back at her. She let her gaze linger on Noora for a moment-- she hadn’t even gotten ready for the night and already looked amazing with her hair in a messy knot at the back of her head, and the sleeves of her button-down pushed up on her arms. 

 

“I heard William is coming,” Vilde said, bringing Eva’s thoughts back to reality. 

 

Eva watched as Sana and Noora exchanged a glance. “I heard,” Sana said nonchalantly, pulling her gaze away from Noora.

 

Something was definitely up--Eva would just have to get to the bottom of it later when she could corner Noora. 

 

Then again, was it really her business? She wasn’t actually dating Noora, and Noora had the right to do what she wanted without telling Eva. Everything was complicated now.

 

With a sigh, Eva turned to the mirror and smeared a dark lipstick across her mouth.

 

* * *

Two hours into the party, and Eva had to admit: she was having a good time, even without the alcohol. She and Sana and Noora had stuffed themselves with snacks from the food tables, danced in the middle of a mosh pit, and snuck around bedrooms upstairs, slamming open doors and playing loud music to break up intimate couples. 

 

Eva had never had so much fun. 

 

“I’m gonna go get some water!” she cried out over the clamor of the crowd, gesturing to the drinks table so Noora would get her message. Noora nodded in reply. 

 

Eva weaved through thrashing bodies, tangled limbs, and sweaty hair to the drinks table, scanning for some water. She grabbed a bottle at the end, and rested herself against the wall to take a break. 

 

Eva was completely zoned out, taking small sips of water, when a dark shadow appeared next to her, pulling her out of her reverie. 

 

William again. 

 

“Enjoying the party?” William asked, leaning up against the wall beside her. 

 

“Yeah, it’s great.”  _ Until you got here. _

 

“Can I get you a drink? As an apology for making you think Noora was cheating on you?”

 

Eva waggled her water bottle in front of him. “No thanks. I’m trying to cut back on alcohol.”

 

William nodded in understanding. “Well, let me at least refill your water, then,” he said. 

 

“Okay, sure,” Eva said, as he grabbed her bottle and headed to the table. She looked up and met Noora’s eyes in the crowd, a quizzical look on her face. Eva just shrugged back. William was acting weird, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. 

 

“Here’s your water,” William said as he returned, handing the bottle to Eva. 

 

“Thanks,” Eva replied. She uncapped the top, and took a gulp, but recoiled at the an acrid taste tainting the water. 

 

Before she could turn to William, or even realize what was happening, Eva’s vision went fuzzy--shapes swimming before her eyes, party lights fading-- and then completely black. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> noora knew something was wrong, however, when eva took a sip of water and her brow furrowed. in a split second that seemed to drag on endlessly, noora watched as a smirk spread across william’s face and eva collapsed to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just gonna get to it here!

Noora looked on as William returned to Eva’s side, saying something to her before handing her a water bottle. He was definitely acting strange, but at the park, he had told Noora he would back off soon, so Noora wasn’t worried--and besides, Eva could handle herself. 

 

Noora knew something was wrong, however, when Eva took a sip of water and her brow furrowed. In a split second that seemed to drag on endlessly, Noora watched as a smirk spread across William’s face and Eva collapsed to the floor. 

 

Immediately, Noora lurched forward, pushing drunk classmates and dancing couples out of the way as she made her way to Eva, heart thundering in her chest. “Sana!” Noora cried out, pointing towards William when Sana made eye contact. 

 

She didn’t even check to make sure that Sana followed, instead plowing her way through the crowd until she reached a horrified looking William standing over Eva, who was laying motionless on the floor, arms sprawled out beside her, hair thrown across her face.

 

Noora slid to her knees, grabbing Eva’s face between her hands. “Eva? Eva!” Noora scooted around so that Eva’s head could rest in her lap. Noora slapped her face lightly, crying out desperately, “Eva, come on! Wake up!”

 

Beside her, William knelt down and grabbed Eva's hand. “Noora, I’m--”

 

Noora slapped William's hand away before managing to let out a “Leave,” pouring as much anger as she could into that one word, tears welling in her eyes as she pulled a limp Eva closer towards her body. “William, leave right now if you know what’s best for you.”

 

“Noora, I swear, I wasn’t--” William floundered.

 

“Let me through!” Noora heard through the clamor of the party still going on, and looked up as Sana finally pushed her way through the small circle of people slowly surrounding Noora and Eva, Vilde trailing behind her. Sana’s eyes widened as she saw Noora and Eva on the floor. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “What’s going on?” 

 

William still looked horrified. “I swear, this isn’t my fault. What I put in her drink-- it must have been laced. I thought it was just a shot of strong alcohol, enough to make her tipsy.”

 

Noora looked up, a murderous expression coloring her face. “Oh, like that is _so_ much better.” 

 

Noora looked back down to Eva, before shaking her shoulders and murmuring, “Come on, Eva, wake up.” She put her ear over Eva’s mouth--she was at least breathing, but Noora didn’t know what William had slipped in her drink, and apparently William didn’t either. A cold hand closed in a vise over her heart. 

 

Sana, seeing that Noora was preoccupied, stepped forward to William, and--despite the fact that she was much shorter than him-- managed to look down at him, arms crossed over her chest. 

 

“Care to explain what you think you were doing, then? If you lie, I won’t hesitate to call the police. After slitting your balls with my fingernail,” Sana added. 

 

William’s eyes widened. “I swear, I didn’t know this would happen.”

 

“And yet, it did,” Sana said. “Now explain yourself.”

 

William looked nervously around him, taking stock of the people slowly gathering a circle around him, Noora, and Eva, all curious to see what the commotion was. More people were joining the forming crowd, and William seemed to realize that that meant more witnesses.    
  


He rushed to get his words out as Sana stood in front of him impatiently. “I thought it was just alcohol. I got it from my brother; it must have been laced with something. I was just hoping that Eva would let me get her a drink and I could get her tipsy enough that she would go back to her usual slutty tendencies…” he back-pedaled when he saw Sana’s expression. “I mean, Eva usually tends to...like hooking up with people when she’s tipsy, so I figured if I could get her to do that and get Noora to see, they would break up, and I could finally have my chance with Noora.”

 

“Oh, well that makes it sound all okay, doesn’t it? Just a little bit of drugging girls and manipulation?” Sana spit out scathingly. “Newsflash, William: you already had your chance with Noora, and let me tell you. It’s long gone.” 

 

“I realize that--I just thought--” William stuttered. 

 

Noora was tired of hearing him try to explain himself, so she looked up and said, “Leave, William. I’ve told you once and I really don’t feel like telling you again.”

 

William held up his hands, going for an innocent look, but Sana just gave him a disgusted glare, before telling him, “I’ve heard London is nice this time of year. Maybe you should check that out for yourself.” 

 

When William didn’t move, Sana looked down casually at her fingernails, examining them carefully. “Goodbye, William,” she said, not looking up at him.

 

William’s eyes widened to a size that would’ve been comical if not for the fear gripping Noora, and with that, he scrambled out of the house. Noora registered the sound of his car pulling away, and was distantly aware of Chris on the phone with paramedics, Vilde rubbing her shoulder, and Sana dropping to her knees in front of her. 

 

“Is she okay?” Vilde asked, brow wrinkled in concern. 

 

Sana looked down at Eva, her brow furrowed. “She’s breathing, at least.” 

 

That didn’t do anything to assuage Noora’s worries.  _ Eva, please, please wake up _ . She let out a watery sob--how appropriate. Just when they had finally gotten rid of William,  _ this _ had to happen.

 

“Noora?” Chris asked softly, phone held against her shoulder. “The paramedics are on their way.”

 

Noora nodded numbly. Eva’s head lay in her lap, and she stroked Eva’s hair away from her face.  _ God, she was so pretty _ , Noora thought. The curve of her full lips, the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose, the ways her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks--

 

_ Wait.  _ Eyelashes fluttering? Noora felt her heartbeat picking up in her chest. “Eva?” 

 

Eva’s brow wrinkled slightly before she opened her eyes, squinting at the bright lights above her. “Noora?” her voice was raspy, barely there-- but it was her voice. She was breathing, speaking, looking at Noora. 

 

Noora swooped down and pressed a kiss to the top of Eva’s head. “Eva! Are you okay?” 

 

Beside her, Vilde let out a soft “thank God,” and Sana squeezed Eva’s hand with a smile. Chris motioned to someone in the crowd for a glass of water, rushing to kneel down beside Eva and raising the cup to her lips. 

 

Eva raised her head up slightly to take a drink, then laid her head back in Noora’s lap, reaching a hand up to rub her forehead. “I feel like shit. Did I forget what alcohol feels like? This is awful.” 

 

Noora stifled a smile-- even after being drugged and passing out, Eva was still trying to crack jokes. “It’s a long story,” Noora explained. 

 

“But William’s gone! Sana threatened to cut off his balls, and then he left for London!” Vilde let out. 

 

Eva looked confused for a moment and was about to say something, when Isak called from the edge of the crowd, “Move, everyone, paramedics are here!” 

 

A man in a dark blue uniform made his way through the crowd, stopping to kneel before Eva, where he proceeded to ask her questions about what had happened, turning to Noora and Sana to fill in the gaps when Eva couldn’t remember. 

 

When they finished explaining, the man nodded and said, “Well, I’m going to take you to the ambulance just to check you out. Is that okay? We need to make sure to get whatever it is out of your body and check you for a concussion. You hit your head pretty hard on the floor.” 

 

Eva nodded, and allowed herself to be lifted up onto the stretcher, and several more paramedics joined in to carry her out of the house. The paramedic who’d questioned Eva stuck behind and turned to Noora. “Are you her sister?” 

 

“Girlfriend, actually,” Noora said, wincing when she realized that wasn't technically true, but she didn’t bother to correct it. 

 

“Okay, well you can come with us then,” he replied. Noora followed him out of the house and into the back of the ambulance, where Eva lay. 

 

Eva smiled when Noora walked in. “Bit ridiculous, isn’t it? I’m feeling better now. Not any worse than my usual hangovers.” 

 

Noora could only manage a faint smile. The paramedics closed the doors, leaving Noora to sit beside Eva, holding her hand as they sped through the streets of Oslo. 

 

* * *

Eva was discharged a few hours later with a clean bill of health. Noora looked up from her seat in the waiting room to see a sheepish looking Eva standing in the door. 

 

“They said I’m free to go,” Eva said. 

 

“You’re okay? 

 

“I’m fine,” Eva said with a smile. “Whatever it was William put in my drink, I threw up on the paramedics while they carried me out to the ambulance.” 

 

Noora laughed. “Good. I was worried about you.” 

 

Eva’s expression grew pained for a moment, but then her expression cleared-- it was almost as if Noora imagined it. 

 

“Well,” Eva let out a breath. “Home again?” 

 

“Yeah,” Noora said. “Home again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can we like........talk about sana
> 
> (also hello!!!! how is everyone doing with skam withdrawals???? come talk to me about it in the comments or on tumblr @noorva!!)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a text from noora: eva, what’s happened? why are you ignoring me?
> 
>  
> 
> eva closed the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies! i got such kind reviews last chapter and have so much love for u all !! lmk what you think of this chapter-- it's a rollercoaster ;))))))))

After Noora had dropped her off at her house, Eva thought she would have trouble sleeping, but she conked out and slept for a full ten hours. When she came to the next morning, she felt a little groggy--though that was normal-- and her head was throbbing a little, but otherwise, she felt fine. 

 

Eva got up from her bed and unplugged her phone from charger, scrolling through her notifications. 3 texts from Vilde, a missed call from her mom, Isak tagging her in a comment, and a text from Noora--trepidation loomed over Eva. Now that William was gone, what did that mean for their relationship? This had all been a ruse to get William away, and now that it had worked, Eva was certain that meant Noora wouldn't want to continue their act. Their relationship wasn't real, and it was the logical time for it to end.

 

So why did Eva feel so sad at the thought of a break-up text greeting her? 

 

Eva took a breath and unlocked her phone, opening her message from Noora. 

 

_ Hey, Eva! How are you feeling? Hope you slept well <3 Meet at the park today? Is 11 okay? _

 

Eva let out a breath of relief. At least Noora had the decency to not break up over text. But that didn’t lessen Eva’s concern--Noora was probably just doing the nice thing and breaking up with her at the park. 

 

Eva texted back anyway:  _ yeah, see you then _

 

* * *

Eva took her time walking to the park, and was surprised when she arrived and didn’t find Noora there. She checked her phone.  _ 11:08 _ . Usually Noora was on time. 

 

Eva sat on a bench for a while, scrolling through Instagram, but when she’d finished, she put her phone back in her pocket and got up to walk around and see where Noora was. 

 

It was a nice day-- sun shining warmly, snow glittering pleasantly, Christmas decorations lining the houses outside the park. As far as break-ups went, Eva mused, this wouldn’t be the worst. 

 

Behind a tree, Eva saw Noora’s head of blond hair, and was about to call out to her, when her voice died in her throat. 

 

Noora was with another girl--and was kissing her passionately. Her arms were wrapped around the girl’s neck, and the other girl’s arms rested on Noora’s waist. Noora stood on her tip toes, pulling the girl closer and closer and closer and--

 

Eva tore her gaze away. She turned quickly, trudging through the snow back towards her house, tears stinging her eyes. I g _ uess Noora moves on quickly _ , Eva thought bitterly.  _ And I guess it’s over.  _

 

* * *

_ Eva! I’m so sorry-- I’m running late and just made it to the park.  _

 

_ I don’t see you anywhere. Where are you? _

 

_ Eva???? _

 

Eva stared at her phone, watching as Noora’s call got sent to voice mail. Eva wasn’t mad so much as numb-- she sat on her bed, arms clutching her knees into her chest, unable to conjure up any emotions about Noora. 

 

William was finally gone, and Noora was free to do what she wanted. This had been a temporary plan, and their fake relationship had reached its expiration date. And that’s all it was, really: a fake relationship. 

 

But there had been moments where it had felt real: where Eva had sworn Noora’s eyes had drifted to her lips, where she had laughed at Eva's jokes, when they sat closer than strictly necessary, even when no one was around to observe them.

 

_ I guess I was just imagining it _ , Eva thought bitterly. 

 

Her phone buzzed again. A message from Sana:  _ Eva, Noora says you’re not answering her texts. Are you okay from last night? I thought the doctors had cleared you _

 

_ i’m fine _ , Eva replied.  _ tell her not to worry about me _

 

With that, Eva turned off her phone and curled onto her side, hot tears sliding slowly down her cheeks.

 

* * *

The next day at school, Eva avoided Noora as much as possible. In Spanish class, she sat next to another student, ignoring the hurt look on Noora’s face. At lunch, Eva went to the bathroom to eat, ignoring the questions of Vilde, Sana, and Chris. After school, she went immediately home. 

 

A message from Noora greeted Eva when she checked her phone.

 

_ Eva, what’s happened? Why are you ignoring me? _

 

Eva closed the conversation. 

 

* * *

The next day after Spanish class, Noora inserted herself in Eva’s path. 

 

“Eva, come on, we need to talk,” Noora said, with an expression on her face that said she wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

 

“I have class,” Eva lied. 

 

“No, you don’t. We always spend this period together,” Noora pointed out. 

 

“I…” Eva trailed off, searching for an excuse. 

 

“Eva, please. We can make it quick. I just want to know what’s going on,” Noora pleaded. 

 

Eva scrambled for an excuse, but upon seeing Noora's desperate expression, her voice died in her throat. “Fine,” Eva replied, following Noora out into the courtyard, where they took a seat on a bench. 

 

They sat in silence for a while. Eva refused to be the first one to talk--not when Noora was the one who had wronged her. 

 

“So…” Noora said tentatively. “Want to explain what’s happened these past few days?”

 

Eva scoffed. “I think you know the answer to that, Noora.” 

 

Noora had the nerve to look confused. “I don’t know what you're talking about, Eva. Did I do something wrong?” 

 

“Well, we were bound to break up anyway. I just thought you had the decency to not do it like that,” Eva said bitterly. 

 

“Break up? Who said we broke up?” 

 

Eva wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. “You did, Noora! You did, when you invited me to that park to talk and then let me catch you making out with another girl instead!” Eva put her head in her hands. 

 

It was silent for a long time. 

 

“Eva, look at me,” Noora said softly. 

 

Eva shook her head in her hands. “I don’t wanna hear it, Noora.” 

 

“Eva, come on, just look at me,” Noora repeated, reaching her hand under Eva’s chin to pull her head up. 

 

Eva looked at Noora, willing the tears gathering in her eyes to go away. 

 

“That wasn’t me, Eva,” Noora said. When Eva rolled her eyes, Noora continued, “I’m serious. I was running late because Eskild was taking so long in the bathroom and I needed to get ready. For you.” 

 

Eva wrinkled her brow in confusion. “But...I saw you. I saw you making out with a girl.”

 

“Did you see my face?” Noora asked. 

 

Eva didn't want to conjure up the image of Noora kissing another girl, but she thought back, unable to recall seeing Noora's face. “No, but that was definitely your blonde hair.”

 

Noora laughed. “Eva, there are a million blondes in Norway. I’m telling you, that wasn’t me. Look, I can show you proof that it wasn’t me.”

 

Noora pulled out her phone and pulled up a screenshot of Eskild’s snapchat story: a photo of Noora simultaneously lunging for the phone, trying to block out the camera, and running a brush through her hair. The time was 11:17, which was much later than Eva saw those two girls kissing behind a tree. 

 

Eva looked closer at the caption on the photo:  _ Noora on her way to get the girl!!!!! _ followed by a bunch of hearts, stars, and kissing emojis. Eva’s heart jolted in her chest.

 

“I don’t understand,” Eva said. 

 

“It wasn’t me at the park, Eva,” Noora said.

 

“No, that part I get,” Eva said. “But what about the caption?”

 

Noora took a closer look at the photo, her eyes widening as she read it. 

 

“About that…” she said. “What I wanted to talk to you about that day at the park.”

 

Eva’s heartbeat thundered in her chest. She motioned for Noora to go on.

 

“You remember those rules we made?” Noora asked. 

 

_And here comes up the break-up_ , Eva thought. She wasn't just going to passively deal with it this time. Anger flared in her chest.

 

“Yes, I remember, Noora. What, it’s time to call this whole thing off for good? You don’t have to worry about fake holding hands or fake kissing when we aren’t even pretending to date anymore,” Eva retorted.

 

“Actually, no, it’s about Rule #6,” Noora said slowly.

 

Confusion replaced anger as Eva paused before asking, “Rule #6?” 

 

Noora took a deep breath. “Yeah. No falling in love, I think it was. I might have a problem with it.”

 

Noora's answer did nothing to abate Eva's confusion. “What about it?” Eva asked. “Was it too dramatic or something? All we had to do was convince William we were dating, and it worked.” 

 

“No, what I meant was--I broke it. No falling in love. I broke that rule,” Noora said.

 

“Noora, what are you talking-- oh,” Eva finished, as Noora's sentiment dawned on her.

 

“So that’s why I’ve been trying so hard to talk to you, because I needed to tell you, but you’ve been ignoring me and I have to tell you that I’m in--” Noora trailed off, but Eva knew what she was conveying and took her chance as Noora's gaze drifted to Eva's lips. She lurched forward and grabbed Noora’s face, pulling it towards her own before pressing their lips together. 

 

Eva didn’t even think-- her brain short-circuited, and despite the fact that she had been the one to pull Noora in, for a moment, she couldn’t move. But her head managed to catch up, frantically seizing on the fact that Noora remained frozen. Eva was about to pull away, realizing this was all a big mistake before Noora responded enthusiastically, one hand coming to rest on Eva’s neck and the other settling on her waist. Eva's heart soared, her mind catching on every little detail: the soft skin of Noora’s cheek beneath her hand, Noora’s teeth grazing her lip, a strand of Noora’s hair tickling her neck, the rise and fall of Noora’s chest against her own,  _ Noora, Noora, Noora. _

 

Finally, Eva pulled back, far enough for their lips to be separated, but close enough for their foreheads to be pressed together. They were both breathing hard, and Eva let out a laugh. 

 

“Noora?” Eva asked. 

 

“Hm?” Noora responded, eyes closed, a small smile on her face.

 

“I think I may have broken rule #6, too.”

 

Noora’s smile widened. “Glad we’re on the same page then,” she replied before pulling Eva towards her, dragging her in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! we did it folks!!!!!!! they're gay and in love!!!!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ummmmm hi i've been on vacation, so i haven't posted for a while and im super sorry!! and also i am literally leaving for a year and a half of service TOMORROW and will not have access to computers, social media, or anything during that time, so thiS IS IT!!!!! procrastination is key (do not try at home, would not recommend). without further ado......the final chapter of GAY!

“Wait, so I don’t get it-- you  _ told  _ Sana? Before I thought you broke up with me, but after the me-going-crazy-at-William-in-the-park incident?” Eva asked. 

 

Noora nodded. “I knew we could trust her, and I needed her advice on how to go about giving William his ‘one last chance,’ and then rejecting him.”

 

“So that’s why you two were acting all weird before the party? You had something planned?” Eva asked, swinging their linked hands between them.

 

Noora kicked at a rock, watching it skid in front of her. “Yeah,” Noora said. “There wasn’t really a plan, just some last ditch effort to convince William that I really was in love with you. Am in love with you,” Noora corrected. 

 

Eva smiled back at her, squeezing Noora’s hand before kicking Noora's rock even further.

 

“And I also was in love with you at the time as well,” Noora added on. “This isn’t really a new feeling.” 

 

Eva turned to her with a smirk. “Oh, really? Care to elaborate?”

 

Noora shoved Eva with her shoulder. “Come on, Eva, you knew I was in love with you!”

 

Eva scoffed. “And where would I get that idea from?” 

 

“Me falling asleep on your shoulder? Holding your hand every chance I could?” 

 

“Okay, but we were pretending to date then. It felt real, but how was I supposed to know that?” Eva asked.

 

“I guess,” Noora conceded. “But, I mean, we weren’t dating when I was flirting with you in Spanish class.”

 

Beside her, Eva froze. “Oh my god. Spanish class?” Eva asked incredulously. 

 

Noora’s cheeks warmed. “I was pretty obvious about it, Eva.”

 

“No--I,” Eva let out a laugh, before sobering up. “I didn’t get the hint. I was too distracted by my own massive crush on you the first day you sat next to me in Spanish.”

 

Noora’s eyebrows flew up to her hairline. “You’re telling me we could’ve just been dating this whole time? I could’ve avoided both William and pining after you for so long?”

 

Eva shrugged. “I guess.”

 

Noora was still incredulous, but she couldn’t be mad when she had Eva walking beside her, gloved hand in her own. 

 

“I was going to ask you out that day, you know,” Noora said. 

 

“You were?” 

 

Noora nodded. “Vilde interrupted me.”

 

“Oh my god,” Eva let out. “We really could have avoided this whole fiasco.”

 

Noora squeezed Eva’s hand, pulling her closer. “We could’ve. But it all worked out, didn’t it?”

 

Eva looked towards Noora, gaze lingering on her face. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Noora's cheek. “Yeah. It really did.”

 

* * *

“Okay, lovebirds, break it up!” Sana shouted from the stoop outside Eva’s house. 

 

“Sana!” Vilde scolded from beside her. “Be sensitive!”

 

Noora glanced up. Her walk home with Eva had made her lose track of time. Sana, Noora, Vilde, and Eva were all meeting at Eva’s for a bus meeting. Sana was very pleased that the drama between Noora and Eva had fizzled out quickly, so that their bus planning could continue smoothly.

 

But she had taken Noora aside the other day and, with an accusing finger wagging in Noora's face, informed her that she and Eva better be in it for real now-- for the good of the bus, of course, Sana seemed determined to make clear. “And don’t even think of breaking Eva’s heart,” Sana had added. Noora had a sneaking suspicion that Eva had received the exact same threats later on.

 

Noora greeted Sana and Vilde and followed them into the house. Once inside, all plans of bus organizing went out the window, and instead, they all danced, threw popcorn at each other, sang on the table, until finally they all ended up in Eva’s bed, watching Gossip Girl. 

 

Yawning, Vilde announced, “Well, I have to get going. My mom wants me back.”

 

“Me too,” Sana said. “But I’ll see you all tomorrow, when we _actually_ plan bus stuff.”

 

Noora watched with a soft smile as Vilde and Sana got out of bed, and then walked with them to the door. Noora would be staying at Eva’s tonight-- and many nights after this, she thought with a curl of pleasure. 

 

Later, when Noora was curled up in bed reading while Eva was in the bathroom, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Her brow furrowed, deepening even further when she saw who the text was from: William.

 

While Noora knew he wouldn’t harass her into a date anymore, trepidation still loomed over her. Opening the message, her heart raced-- but then she could only let out a laugh.

 

Staring back at her from the screen was a selfie of William looking pathetically sad, eyebrows sloped downwards, mouth creased into a frown, and greasy hair hanging into his eyes. Below it was a message from William:  _ are you happy now, Noora? _

 

For a moment, Noora didn’t know how to respond, but then she glanced up to find Eva dancing in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth, one of Noora’s baggy t-shirts barely grazing the tops of her thighs. 

 

When Eva realized Noora was looking at her, she paused mid-moonwalk, giving Noora a funny look before asking, “What?”

  
Noora shook her head with a soft smile, before turning to her phone and replying to William--the first response in an endless stream of his texts from the last few months--  _ yeah, William. I am.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw, poor sadboi william........get shredded. but...ta da! that's it! and like i said, i won't have access to computers/internet, so i won't see your responses, but pls let me know what you think! you have all been so sweet along this entire process and i appreciate it. so much love to all of you and so much love to my fave gay girls in skam, who are happily dating and definitely gay.


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